California's 5 Best College Towns, According To Visitors

Think U.S. college towns and it's invariably the East Coast Ivy Leaguers that come to mind. They include places like Massachusetts' Wellesley, where curated galleries meet upscale shops, or the endless charms and fun of Princeton, New Jersey. But cold, hard numbers can't lie, and they reveal that it's the Pacific-washed state of California that hosts more higher education institutions than anywhere in the country — a whopping 644 in total.

They're spread all over, from the winelands of Sonoma up north to the sun-soaked beaches of San Diego in the south. Some sit in particularly enticing college towns that come with real vibes, amazing settings, buzzy nightlife scenes, and just all-round great quality of life. But where are the best ones? Which Cali college towns are the ones to write home about? What are the most exciting prospects for would-be students hitting the Golden State?

This guide has the answer. It presents a list of the five most amazing California college towns, each of which has garnered high praise for former visitors across forums and various travel publications. There's something for everyone, too — no matter if you like to cap off lectures with a surf in the Pacific, or end a day of learning with a hike through a redwood forest.

One Reddit thread titled "What's the best college town in the U.S?" begins with some rather glowing words about San Luis Obispo — which is also known, simply, as SLO to its loyal followers. Someone who once attended college there waxes lyrical: "SLO is a gem though, small, cozy little town near the ocean with beautiful green hills and hiking trails everywhere. Everyone who lives there are happy to be there." It's a sentiment seen over and over again, as barely a single forum post about California's top college destinations can go by without it getting a mention, or 10. CNN Travel even described it as "pure California perfection" back in 2024.

So, what's all the fuss about? As is already mentioned, SLO sits neatly between the coast and the mountains. Within a 20-minute drive, you can be surfing on the breaks of Morro Bay, or hiking the roughly 1,350-foot heights of Cerro San Luis. Go just a touch further, and you'll find the wine region of Paso Robles — some 30 minutes to the north — and the vast ridges of the Los Padres National Forest, located a touch over 30 minutes to the southeast. Adventure possibilities are endless.

The thing is, you might not even want to leave the city. San Luis Obispo is also known for its historic downtown, which is laced with Spanish-looking facades and buildings that date back to the 1700s. It's also abuzz with life thanks to the more than 22,000 students who attend the town's Cal Poly university. They provide the footfall for gritty venues like Bull's Tavern, a down-to-earth student hangout, and creative eats like Mistura, a rule-breaking Peruvian fusion kitchen.

Love for world-famous Berkeley is almost on a par with the plaudits given to San Luis Obispo, meaning this corner of the Bay Area easily slips into this selection of the top five college towns in the Golden State. In the words of one poster on Reddit: "Berkeley CA. Nothing else comes close. The best public university in the world right in the middle of a world class economic and cultural metro area (the SF Bay Area)."

The public university in question is UC Berkeley, and it really is that highly rated — it has been ranked as the top public school in the United States by U.S. News & World Report, and ninth in the world in the 2026 Times Higher Education league tables. At the time of writing, the institution offers around 400 different degree programs to over 33,000 undergraduate and more than 12,000 postgraduate students. And it has counted multiple Nobel Prize winners among its faculty over the years.

That's the educational powerhouse behind the college town itself, which clutches the eastern edge of San Francisco Bay with its cool brunch joints, artisan coffee houses, and graffiti-scrawled thoroughfares. What's nice is that Berkeley is one of California's most walkable destinations. Much of the action unfolds on Telegraph Avenue, a vibey street where vintage vinyl emporiums sit side by side with totemic historic locations.

A post on the SkyscraperPage.com forum — a cities and buildings database that covers the whole world — bills Davis as the "quintessential California college town." That's backed up by multiple mentions on Reddit, and an honorable inclusion in the Los Angeles Times' guide to the state's best college towns. The latter extolls Davis as a bicycle-mad hub for the study of agricultural sciences, and picks out the sprawling 5,300-acre campus as a particular highlight.

Indeed, the UC Davis campus is really, really big; the largest in the whole University of California system, no less. It counts 17,000 trees, acres of lawn, and its very own arboretum — which has proved particularly popular with past visitors. In fact, one took to Tripadvisor to say: "The arboretum at the edge of campus is superb with wooded paths, bridges crossing over Putah Creek, and plenty of green spaces to have a picnic."

All that sits within walkable — or cyclable, since Davis is oft-hailed as one of the most bike-friendly towns in the U.S. — distance of downtown. Go there to find a tight-knit community center that's brimming with wine tasting rooms, art galleries, tiki bars, and more. And, if you happen to be around on a Saturday, be sure to drop into the Davis Farmers Market, where specialty coffee, locally grown veg, and California honey are just a taste of what's on sale.

If you like your universities with a side of old-growth rainforest, then this could be the one for you. Arcata is California's coastal college town framed by redwoods, set roughly midway between the hulking trees of the Humboldt Redwoods and the river-carved forests of Redwood National and State Parks. Even closer to home — or, should that say, "dorm" — is the Arcata Community Forest, a 790-acre burst of woodland that's webbed with inviting biking and hiking trails.

There's plenty for lovers of the great outdoors, but what about the urban side of life? It's most certainly of the small-town variety. According to one Reddit thread advising a would-be student at Humboldt State University (now known as Cal Poly Humboldt), the vibe in Arcata is rural, slow, and very community-based compared to other, larger college towns in California.

One poster even underlines how coming to Arcata is very much about getting a taste of the wilderness over bustling downtown pursuits: "On the plus side, we have vast amounts of amazing nature to be able to escape into. You can wander the woods, the beaches, the rivers or lagoons and often times do so without even seeing another human."

No list of the best college towns in California could possibly be complete without a mention of Santa Barbara. Known as the "American Riviera," this epic beach town with Spanish-inspired beauty is a real looker. The dusty peaks of the Santa Ynez Mountains rise behind. The Pacific Ocean sighs and sloshes in front. Add to that over 300 days of sunshine and temperatures that hover between 60 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit for much of the year, and it sort of gets hard to resist.

As one alumnus puts it on Reddit: "I went to college in Santa Barbara, and my god is it such a beautiful beach city!!! Perfect weather, relaxed vibe, beautiful people, and gorgeous architecture." Hit the downtown core to stroll the pedestrianized length of State Street. It's got a whiff of the European about it, with al fresco dining and cafes spilling out under the palms. For beaches, you need only step out from the Santa Barbara Community College campus to find the cliff-backed sands of Leadbetter, where there's a right-hand surf break for post-lecture slides.

Santa Barbara offers several higher education institutions, though UC Santa Barbara is the big name on campus (no pun intended). Nearly 25,000 people are enrolled in one of the 200-plus courses offered there, and the college is regularly ranked among Forbes' top colleges in the U.S.

This list of the best college towns in California is a product of research across multiple sources. We trawled discussions on Reddit, travel forums, and Tripadvisor to seek out glowing mentions and reviews of university centers in the Golden State. We then crosschecked those with listicles and publications in leading travel outlets and local media, and added some first-hand knowledge of various college towns in the state.